Orange Schools Are Wary Of Voters

After Defeats For Other Counties' Tax Referendums, Leaders Are Wondering How To Get More Money.

February 26, 1996|By Linda K. Wertheimer of The Sentinel Staff

There's an angry voter out there who isn't keen about new taxes, especially if schools get the cash.

This voter says no to school taxes because he distrusts school officials who ask for more money; he feels ripped off by the Florida Lottery, which was supposed to give more money to schools; and he thinks school administration is top-heavy.

This rationale shows why six Florida school districts couldn't get tax-increase measures passed and gives important information to Orange County school leaders who may try to get a tax approved, said Susan A. MacManus, a professor of public administration and political science at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

MacManus, author of a recent book on anti-tax sentiment in the United States, polled 962 Hillsborough County voters last fall on why they voted for or against a proposed tax increase for schools.

Hillsborough and seven other districts that sought tax increases this year wanted more money to combat a problem that all Central Florida school systems face: too many new students and too little money to build enough new schools.

Orange County school leaders are grappling over what to do to get more money for new schools. The district estimates it is between $1 billion and $2 billion short of what is needed to build and repair schools during the next 10 years. School Board members say they want to wait for an advisory group's suggestions before deciding to put a tax referendum on the ballot.

Orange County Chairman Linda Chapin last week suggested developers ultimately could face a growth moratorium if some answers to the problem aren't found.

But if Orange County schools try for a tax increase, chances of winning are slim, MacManus said.

Tax referendums for school construction and renovation have, for the most part, been going down in flames throughout the state, usually by wide margins. Only two of eight school systems have won voter approval this year.

- Monroe: With 73 percent in favor, approved a half-cent sales tax increase. Educators promised the sales tax, half of which is paid by tourists, would negate the need to raise property taxes to the maximum limit.

- St. Lucie: With 51 percent opposed, defeated a half-cent sales tax. But on the same day, the same percentage approved a second referendum, a bond issue.

The voters who said no, MacManus' study shows, were quick to point to recently built schools that seemed overloaded with frills. They also groused about the Florida Lottery, which state lawmakers promised would ''enhance education.'' Instead, the money was simply used to replace state money that used to go to schools, which then was diverted elsewhere.

''You get a lemon car once, you don't go back,'' MacManus said. ''We got a lemon with the lottery, and we don't trust any other thing they're selling to us.''

Orange County School Board Chairman Linda Sutherland noted that Orange County, too, has targets for opponents, including its nine-story headquarters across from the Orlando Arena. Critics deride the 6-year-old building as the ''Schott Mahal,'' after former Superintendent James Schott, who wanted it built. The $30 million Dr. Phillips High School also has been cited as an extravagance.

There's no question that the sentiments voters expressed in the MacManus study are real, say tax supporters and opponents.

''It's a fact that what's wrong with the district, more money won't cure,'' said Bea Fowler, a 67-year-old Cocoa Beach woman who led Brevard's anti-tax group.

MacManus, who studied what Okaloosa and Monroe did to win, said districts must respond to the gripes of ''no'' voters.

''The most convincing case they (districts) have made is shown that they reduced administration staff and that they shied away from building these lavish new schools,'' she said.

Orange County also hopes to show it is trying to be frugal, appointing a group of business leaders to scrutinize its $3.2 billion wish list of building needs and to suggest cuts, School Board member Lydia Gardner said.

MacManus said the advisory committee is a good idea only if board members follow the suggestions. If Orange County ignores the advice, it may face that angry voter's wrath, she predicted.